Just my thoughts on the books I read…

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Babyville

Hmm…I have read several Jane Green novels in the past. The first one I seem to remember is Bookends, I liked it so much, I sought out other books by Green. That was several years ago. I was looking for some books to read this past weekend and I came across Babyville. Being that it was written by Jane Green, I decided to give it a try. It started off pretty well. Getting into the story of Julia and Mark and how the relationship was going once they decided to start trying to get pregnant. I had not read any reviews about this book nor did I read the blurb telling me what the story would be. I was expecting part two to be about Mark’s side of the story, but it introduced Maeve. Her story was in itself interesting. Then it goes on the Sam’s story, after the baby.

What I don’t get is…What happened to the rest of Julia’s story? What did Mark think of all this? And, why did we need to get into Sam’s story? The three stories alone would have been ok. It just seems as if we were left to formulate our own endings.

***spoiler***

My questions are:

1. When Julia went to New York and met the man she later ends up with, what happened in their courtship? Why did we not get to share the happy times in her life when we were there for the depressive parts.

2. After Julia left, Mark was there to deal with the results of her leaving and the end of the relationship. What happened to him? Where were the emotions we should have witnessed. Then when he found out about Maeve, why do we not know about their happy ending. Did he ever end up giving her the ring he had originally bought for Julia? Did he get another one? Do they ever get married? Or do they just live together?

3. Why did we need to know about Maeve’s parents getting back together? Was that just added in there to emphasize Maeve’s resistance to commitment?

4. Sam’s story could have been left out completely. I knew what was going to happen right from the beginning.

This book did not live up to the expectations I had set for Jane Green. The flow was not easy and it just did not make sense to me the gaps which were left. It won’t make it to the top of my recommendations.

Here’s the real summary:

Meet Julia, a wildly successful television producer who appears to have the picture-perfect life. But beneath the surface, things are not as perfect as they seem. Stuck in a loveless relationship with her boyfriend, Mark, Julia thinks a baby is the answer . . . but she may want a baby more than she wants her boyfriend. Maeve, on the other hand, is allergic to commitment. A feisty, red-haired, high-power career girl, she breaks out in a rash every time she passes a stroller. But when her no-strings-attached nightlife leads to an unexpected pregnancy, her reaction may be just as unexpected . . . And then there’s Samantha—happily married and eager to be the perfect June-Cleaver mother. But baby George brings only exhaustion, extra pounds, and marital strife to her once tidy life. Is having an affair with a friend’s incredibly sexy husband the answer?

With Babyville, bestselling author Jane Green applies her golden touch to the next phase of a girl’s life. By turns witty, rollicking, and tender, this sparkling, sexy tale about the complexities of modern motherly love isn’t really a story about babies—it’s about three friends whose lives are suddenly turned upside down by that life-changing event that hangs over the head of every single girl: motherhood